Auburn faces uphill climb after loss to Brookfield

Saturday

Jul 12, 2014 at 11:27 PMJul 13, 2014 at 12:10 AM

By Shaun Suhoski CORRESPONDENT

With a gentle breeze blowing from right field, and the super moon looming large in left-center, Brookfield advanced to the Little League Junior Division Section 1 final following a 7-3 victory over host Auburn at Lemansky Field on Saturday night.

Brookfield, comprised of players from a neighborhood in north Brockton, broke open a 3-2 game with a three-run rally in the sixth inning. That was part of a nearly 40-minute stretch that included a Brookfield protest of an Auburn substitute player re-entering the game after starting pitcher Griffin Millette reached his pitch limit.

After a lengthy conference between coaches, then umpires, then phone calls to district and higher officials the game resumed with Auburn's substitution approved and the kerfuffle having no real impact on the outcome other than the length of the game.

With one out and one on in the top of the sixth, Brookfield's Josh Cabrera lofted a high fly to deep left for an RBI double. He advanced on a fielder's choice and, after a walk to Donny Packard, scored on a wild pitch that also advanced Packard to second. Richie Wood followed with an RBI single through the hole at second base to give the visitors a 6-2 lead.

Brookfield tacked on another run in the top of the seventh as reliever Brad Zona walked Sam Hendrigan. Hendrigan stole second, then third, then scrambled towards home - which might have prompted the wild pitch that allowed him to score. Zona recovered and struck out the side.

Auburn rallied in the bottom half with singles by Zona, Mike Collins and Griffin Millette to load the bases with nobody out. After Wood notched a strikeout, Coleson Hammond singled to score Zona and make it 7-3. Auburn's Colin McKeon came to the plate as the potential tying run, but he popped up to short, which resulted in an odd double play where the infield fly rule was invoked, eventually causing both the batter and Hammond to be called out after the catch.

Wood pitched the complete game for Brookfield getting the outs when needed.

“He has been stellar out there for regular season games and the all-star team,” said Brookfield manager Donny Packard. “We'll be hosting the sectional championship on Tuesday.”

Auburn's Millette pitched 5-1/3 strong innings before reaching the 95-pitch limit. He gave up four earned runs on six hits while striking out nine.

“I've watched that kid grow up since he was in the second grade,” said Auburn manager Nick Hammond. “He just throws strikes and bears down, but he hit his pitch limit, so he was done.”

Because of the double-elimination tourney rules Auburn still has a shot at playing in Tuesday's final in Brockton. They need a win on Sunday night, as they host Northampton at 7:30 p.m. at Lemansky.

“The path is still there,” said Hammond. “The mood is still upbeat. They want to win and they're not giving up.”

Auburn beat Northampton, 2-1, in a tournament game earlier in the week.

“If we beat Northampton we need to beat Brookfield twice. Then it's the state championship next weekend,” said Hammond. “We got to hit better and run the bases better and we'll be fine.”